Image: sxc.hu

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unscented shampoo
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 15 drops fragrance oil

Directions:

1. Pour shampoo into a large glass bowl and add water.
2. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. Add salt and continue stirring until the mixture thickens.
4. Add essential oil and stir.
5. Store in a plastic or glass bottle.

This bubble bath also can substitute as a body wash.

You can choose any fragrance you like — my favorites are the fruity fragrance oils, such as cherry, strawberry or peach. However, you can try everything from lavender to peppermint. If you like you bubble bath a little more fragrant, just add more of the oil.

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How to Make Your Own Bubble Bath

Dr. Oliver Zong, a top podiatrist based in New York City, offers us these fabulous pedicure tips to help you keep your feet looking fantastic all summer long.

Image: sxc.hu

Bacteria can flourish in dark, wet places, such as a bathroom medicine cabinet. Be sure to sanitize your nail clippers by soaking them in boiling water and wiping them down with rubbing alcohol every few weeks

Say NO to self-surgery! Anything that hurts, such as removing deep-set ingrown toenails, will cause more damage than good. If you have a painful nail, see a doctor right away

Check expiration dates for beauty products like scrubs, lotions, or soaks. Open containers that sit around for a long time unused can collect bacteria and easily infect cuts in your feet – including blisters

Use simple Epsom salt and warm water to relieve and revive tired feet. It often has similar properties as fancy spa soaks but can cost several dollars less at a drug store

Give your toes time to breath. Nails are their healthiest when they are exposed to air and water. When changing nail polish colors, check nails to make sure they are not discolored – this is a classic sign of toenail fungus and can go unnoticed if nails are always painted.

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Expert Tips: Healthy Home Spa Experience

Now I’m looking for my own home spa treatments and ways that I can cut some corners financially, I’ve found some good uses for the ubiqutous epsom salt! 

Check out these home spa remedies from the Epsom Salt Council, and then head to the drug store or grocery store and pick up a bag for your own bathroom! 

Microdermabrasion Facial
Mix 1/2 teaspoon of Epsom Salt into cleansing cream to create a microdermabrasion treatment to remove dead cells that build up on the top layer of the skin. Gently massage in circular motions. This gentle exfoliant is also good to help unclog pores and remove oily build up. It also will help you get the most out of your make up providing a smooth surface in order for foundation to go on evenly. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Apply your favorite moisturizer with SPF 15 or higher.

Glowing Skin Exfoliating Treatment
Try this body scrub to remove the surface layer of dead skin cells which tend to build up during the winter months. This treatment can also help to lessen the appearance of cellulite. Mix two cups of Epsom Salt with 1/4 cup of petroleum jelly and a few drops of lavender essential oil. Use the mixture to gently slough away dry patches. Exfoliate weekly to keep skin looking glowing and fresh. You’ll find this same treatment at many upscale spas.

Pedicure Perfection
Get happy feet by dissolving a half cup of Epsom Salt into two quarts of warm water. Pour the water into a container and soak your bare feet for fifteen to twenty minutes. For an extra treat, add a few drops of eucalyptus oil for a refreshing scent. Massage the entire foot with Epsom Salt concentrating on the heels and ankles to remove any dry, rough spots.  Then, rinse your feet off with clean tap water and dry them thoroughly.

Bath Time Bliss
Add two cups of Epsom Salt to the water in a standard-sized bathtub; soak for at least 12 minutes. For an extra treat, add a few drops of peppermint essential oil for an energizing scent.  Breathe in deeply and relax.  Epsom Salt provides the body with magnesium, a mineral that helps to improve sleep, reduce anxiety and relieve muscle aches.

(image provided by the Epsom Salt Council)

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Home Spa: Epsom Salts

Sonos is the first wireless multi-room music which lets you listen to different music in up to 21 rooms of the house all by the palm of your hand. 

 

The beauty of the Sonos system is that you can have relaxing spa music in the bathroom, your husband can have another kind in the livingroom and the kids can each have their own music in their rooms as well.  

The whole thing is wireless, so the only thing you really need to worry about is dropping the remote into the bath with you (we don’t recommend that here at SpaBeautifully) and the system can be tailored to the size of your home. 

The most popular bundle, the 2 room Sonos Zone 150 Bundle, will run you around $1000 USD. While that’s not exactly pocket change these days, it’s also not enitrely out of reach. 

You don’t need money to feel rich, just a little bit of luxury in the palm of your hand.

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Get a Spa Atmosphere at Home

There just may be a solution however, in Tassi.  Tassi is a new product, which gently holds all of your hair off your face so you don’t end up with a wet, messed up ‘do.

The Tassi is a terry cloth, hair… band for lack of a better word, that gathers all of your hair softly and holds it out of your way. With a range of 12 colours, you’re sure to find one you like.

Founder Shawna Ellsworth created the Tassi based on a hairwrap her Aunt Dot used to make for her three teenage daughters. Shawna began using Aunt Dot’s hairwrap, too, when she washed her face each night. Over the years while raising five children, Shawna refined and developed Aunt Dot’s original concept. Ellsworth’s Tassi won the Best New Beauty Accessory Award aat the Extracts Show in New York City in February.

Now, here’s the best part. I promised my readers when I took over Spa Beautifully  that I would offer my readers more give-aways and would amp up the home spa coverage, so, to keep that promise, I’m giving away the Tassi I’ve got here! I’ve got a lavender Tassi up for grabs.

If you want one of these amazing, quite possibly life-changing Tassis, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you would like to see more of here at SpaBeautifully. Make sure the e-mail address you provide is valid.

The deadline is Sunday, December 21, at 11:59:59 p.m. PST. Winner will be chosen on Monday, December 22, 2008.

The Fine Print

Rules and regs for the contest:

1. Comments like, “Give it to me!” or “I want to win!” ARE NOT ELIGIBLE. You have to answer the question.
2. One entry per person, and yes, I do check IP addresses to remove duplicates.
3. Long-haired dudes are just as eligible to enter as long-haired chicks. I and my husband are the only people not eligible to enter. Everyone else can enter and win.
4. Comments must be received by Sunday, December 21, at 11:59:59 p.m. PST.
5. I will use the random sequence generator at Random.org to choose one lucky winner, (who will be the first eligible entry in the sequence). The announcement of the winner will be FINAL. No arguing.

Good Luck!!!

(image source provided by Tassi)

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Tassi: Keeping your Hair Off Your Facial